Politics, Culture, and Sexuality in Renaissance and Baroque Rome, 1417 – 1721
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST3127 | History | 3 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- HIST3127
- School
- History
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
Rome is distinctive for not only being beautiful, ancient, and enduringly important, and not only because it has always been a tourist attraction, but also because it has always been especially concerned with its self-image and its own history. Never was this truer than in the early modern period, when popes in the Renaissance developed elaborate plans to beautify the city and later used it as a physical reproof to the Protestant Reformation.
We will be exploring how Rome reinvented itself in the 15th-17th centuries, its priorities and reinventions as a city, and its particular struggles. This module also investigates social issues such as discrimination against Jews and other minorities, persecution of homosexuality and other forms of “deviancy”, attitudes towards women and the poor, and aristocratic unrest at papal encroachment on their prerogatives.
Target Students
All History (single and joint honours) students in years 3 or 4. Available to Liberal Arts students.
Classes
- One 2-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 1-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
This module will be taught via a series of lectures and seminars.
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: 1 topic-based essay 3,000 words.
- 50% Presentation: Source-based presentation 1,500 words.
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
This module will investigate the functioning of Roman society, in the period between the return of the papacy to Rome after the Great Schism, and the death of Pope Clement XI. This period featured the challenges of the Protestant Reformation, resurgent efforts to reform the Catholic Church, the weakening of cardinals’ authority vis-à-vis the papacy after the Council of Trent, the flourishing of new missionary orders such as the Jesuits and the Oratorians, and the emergence of new artistic movements such as Mannerism and the Baroque. The module examines the consequences for Rome of the papacy’s return, and shows how this small city – a relative backwater before 1417 – became once again one of the great cities of Europe by the early 18th century.Learning Outcomes
Understanding of Rome’s history in a crucial period between the 15th and 18th centuries.
Improved skills in critical reading, presentation, research, and persuasive writing.
Familiarity with major issues and debates that engage historians of this topic, and a strong understanding of cultural, social, political and gender history in Roman and Italian contexts.
Demonstrate an enhanced understanding of History as a discipline through the use of a wide variety of source material.